Bacaro Restaurant has built itself a niche serving dishes inspired by regional ingredients in Italy.
Owners chef Brian Kingsford and Jennifer Matta have traveled extensively in Italy and have secured sources for the best in everything from olives and olive oils to wines.
After a stunning wine dinner with Giorgio Rivetti (owner of La Spinetta and Contratto Wineries in Piedmont), Nicoletta Nafi (export director of Ciacci Piccolomini in Montalcino, Tuscany) and Giovanni Bertani (owner of Sta. Maria alle Pieve in the Veneto), I asked Kingsford to provide a Small Bites dish for Christmas.
He thought of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or La Vigilia, at which Italian-Americans prepare seven different fish dishes on Christmas Eve. Insalata Frutti di Mare, which translates to Salad of Fruits of the Sea, is Kingsford's dish. He poaches each of the seafoods in the same water to build up the flavors. That is one technique he shares in his recipe.
If using the baby octopus, Kingsford said not to fear buying a frozen product. It actually works to tenderize the octopus in the way pounding helps tenderize beef.
"When the molecules expand in freezing, then they knead when thawed," he said. "It's like kneading a piece of meat."
Whole Foods stores and Portugalia Marketplace, the Portuguese market in Fall River, are two sources for the octopus.
Kingsford also uses the aromatic Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona extra virgin olive oil.
"We believe in taking an oil from the region of the dish," he said.
He said the seafood salad is always on the menu, but it changes throughout the year to feature seasonal flavors such as citrus and fennel, and he'll mix up the fish as well. Sometimes he'll add mussels or scallops.
"The recipe works with any combination of the seafood, so feel free to eliminate one and add another, or double up on one, according to your taste," said Kingsford.
And that is the thing about cooking and learning with these Small Bites videos: See the technique and then make the dish your own by changing ingredients to suit you.
Don't fear the food. Embrace it.
With New Year's Eve on Sunday this year, Bacaro will be open and serving at 262 South Water St., Providence, (401) 751-3700, bacarorestaurant.net.
And if you haven't seen their elegant new bar, you're missing something special.
The Journal's Small Bites videos are created in collaboration with the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. They are shot in a demonstration kitchen at Hope & Main, the food-business incubator in Warren. Find the video at providencejournal.com/topics/small-bites.
Octopus, Squid and Shrimp Salad in Shallot Mignonette
1 pound octopus
1 pound squid, tubes and tentacles
1 pound shrimp
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup virgin olive oil, plus drizzle to serve
Kosher salt, to taste
½ cup shallots, diced fine
5 stalks celery, sliced very thin
1 cup olives, Taggiasca preferred
1 cup red bell pepper, roughly chopped, roasted and skinned
1 cup fingerling potatoes, cut into quarters and boiled in salted water
1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Poach each of the three kinds of seafood. Directions follow.
Once cool, cut the octopus into small, bite-sized pieces. Remove the beak, located beneath the head at the center of the tentacles, and discard. Peel and devein the shrimp and cut into thirds. Cut the squid tubes in to half-inch rings. Slice up the tentacles. Set aside.
To prepare the salad: place the red wine vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt into a stainless steel or plastic bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Whisk to create the vinaigrette. Add the shallots, celery, olives, red pepper, potatoes and parsley to the bowl and toss. Add the seafood.
Refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to one day.
Serve with a drizzle of virgin olive oil. The best choice would be a fruity extra virgin olive oil.
Serves four.
Poached Octopus, Shrimp and Squid
3 quarts water
3 bay leafs
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns, crushed with the side of the knife
3 cups white wine
Salt, to taste
2 lemons, sliced in half
Pound baby octopus
Pound raw shrimp
Pound squid tubes and tentacles, separated
Place water, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, white wine and salt into a non-reactive pan with lid. Squeeze the lemon halves into the water and then add the crushed lemon rinds to the water. Bring to a boil.
Cook each variety of seafood separately and in one-pound batches. You do not want to lose the boil when the seafood is added.
For octopus, boil 12 minutes or until the octopus pulls apart easily with tongs. Remove with strainer and place on a sheet pan to cool.
Using the same boiling water, place the raw shrimp into the water and boil for 2 minutes. Remove to a sheet pan to cool.
Place squid tubes in same boiling liquid for 2 minutes. Remove to a sheet pan to cool.
Place squid tentacles in boiling water for 2½ minutes. Remove to a sheet pan to cool.
